Alms: Difference between revisions

The word, in the modern English language, comes from the [[Old English]] ''{{lang|ang|ælmesse}}'', ''{{lang|ang|ælmes}}'', from [[Late Latin]] ''{{lang|la|eleemosyna}}'', from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἐλεημοσύνη}} ''{{lang|grc-Latn|eleēmosynē}}'' ("pity, alms"), from {{lang|grc|ἐλεήμων}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|eleēmōn}}'' ("merciful"), from {{lang|grc|ἔλεος}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|eleos}}'' ("pity").{{cn|date=September 2021}}

 

[[File:Three monks chanting in Lhasa, 1993.jpg|thumb|Three monks seeking alms in [[Lhasa]], Tibet. 1993.]]

 

In countries that follow [[Mahayana]] Buddhism, the practice of a daily alms round has mostly died out. In China, Korea and Japan, local cultures resisted the idea of giving food to 'begging' clerics, and there was no tradition of gaining 'merit' by donating to practitioners. After periods of persecution, monasteries were situated in remote mountain areas in which the distance between the monastery and the nearest towns would make a daily alms round impossible. In Japan, the practice of a weekly or monthly [[takuhatsu]] replaced the daily round. In the Himalayan countries, the large number of bhikkhus would have made an almsround a heavy burden on families. Competition with other religions for support also made daily almsrounds difficult and even dangerous; the first Buddhist monks in the [[Silla]] dynasty of Korea were said to be beaten due to their minority at the time.{{citation needed|date=June 2012}}

 

[[File:Codex Tennenbach 4 017r.jpg|thumb|[[Clare of Assisi|St. Clare]] distributes alms; Tennenbach Codex 4, illustrated before {{circa|1492}}]]

The giving of alms, also known as an offering, is an act of [[Charity (practice)|charity]] toward those less fortunate.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Alms and Almsgiving (in the Bible) {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/alms-and-almsgiving-bible|access-date=2021-09-18|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref> In the [[Apostolic age]], [[Christians]] were taught that giving alms was an expression of love which was first expressed by God to them in that [[Jesus]] sacrificed himself as an act of love for the salvation of believers.{{efn|[[Epistle of James|James]] 1:27 (NIV) "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."}}